Local scout troop celebrates 100th year

August 18, 2019News Extra

Kaden Crocker, 10, and Kaden Solup, 12, carry flags to take down colors at the end of Boy Scout Troop 19's 100th anniversary festivities.

Seb Foltz/Butler Eagle

BUTLER TWP — The Boy Scouts in Troop 19 in Meridian have been camping, earning badges, engaging in community service projects and working toward their Eagle Scout status for a century.

The troop, headed by Scoutmaster Dave Freund for the past eight years, celebrated its 100-year mark on Saturday by inviting current and former scouts and their families to a dinner at the troop's headquarters, Meridian United Presbyterian Church on Highland Avenue.

One former scout who attended the dinner and program was Jim Diamond, who was a member from 1945 until earning his Eagle Scout designation in 1953.

“I think it's incredible,” Diamond said of the troop's 100-year mark. “I had no idea it was in existence that long.”

Jacob Thomas, 18, has earned 32 merit badges as well as his Eagle Scout designation in February.

“The troop is so important to the community and it has been like that for 100 years,” he said. “It's so cool. There's that connection from the past until today.”